I mean, if you have any 32-bit Windows, you can run it. You just have to launch it directly from the DOS command line, and you need to install an IPX->TCP/IP wrapper (or Kali/something similar) for multiplayer. I was playing Dune on my Windows XP box well into the 00s and NTVDM supported it fine.
But yeah, DOSbox is probably a better option these days.
'Original glory' could be defined as "on original hardware on a screen where the graphics looks as they're supposed to instead of being stretched and changed in all sorts of ways"
The first installment in Westwood's "Command and Conquer" product line, but I remember someone mentioning that Command and Conquer was also the name of the game engine. The second installment was supposed to be a fantasy-themed, but idea was somehow scrapped and turned into modern warfare.
Dune II didn't have an engine name, it pretty much invented the whole modern RTS genre (Herzog Zwei was a prototype for the genre, however) and much of it was bespoke/non-general code.
For C&C and RA they had the "Westwood Engine", C&C2 & RA2 used the "Westwood Engine 2"; both of these (and the Dune II prototype engine) were also referred to as "the Command and Conquer Engine". They then had a small gap of 3D games (Renegade, for instance) that used the "Westwood 3D" engine which was expanded and renamed to "SAGE" for Generals. All followup C&C games used "SAGE 2.0".
the months leading up to C&C release were quite exciting as game magazines were releasing details left and right , and when they released the demo https://cnc.fandom.com/wiki/Command_%26_Conquer_demo it was such good times. those graphics, the gameplay mechanics, the voice lines. And when the final release on several CDs was there, we got to enjoy those sweet video sequences. Still up there in TOP 10 of best RTS
Many fond memories of my dad struggling to make this run on our family PC which was well below the system requirements, his eventual success and my ultimate love of the game.
AFAIR it required some unusally large amount of base mem (not highmem). I learned a lot about computers by repetitively breaking the family PC trying to get it to work (by disabling random things in autoexec.bat and CONFIG.SYS to free up as much of that 640k as possible), then trying to fix it before my dad came home. Good times.
> Real-time strategy (RTS) is a subgenre of strategy video games that does not progress incrementally in turns,[1] but allow all players to play simultaneously, in "real time". By contrast, in turn-based strategy (TBS) games, players take turns to play. The term "real-time strategy" was coined by Brett Sperry to market Dune II in the early 1990s.[2][3]
> While not the first real-time strategy (RTS) video game, Dune II established the format that would be followed for years to come.[1][2] As such, Dune II is the archetypal real-time strategy game. Striking a balance between complexity and innovation, it was a huge success and laid the foundation for Age of Empires, Command & Conquer, Warcraft, and many other RTS games that followed.
Readit News
Page is accessible through Google cache: https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache%3Ahttp...
someone never heard of dosbox
(I happen to have shown it to my 13yo son a few days ago. He wasn't impressed.)
But yeah, DOSbox is probably a better option these days.
Nevermind, found it: https://www.filfre.net/2023/06/a-dialog-in-real-time-strateg...
For C&C and RA they had the "Westwood Engine", C&C2 & RA2 used the "Westwood Engine 2"; both of these (and the Dune II prototype engine) were also referred to as "the Command and Conquer Engine". They then had a small gap of 3D games (Renegade, for instance) that used the "Westwood 3D" engine which was expanded and renamed to "SAGE" for Generals. All followup C&C games used "SAGE 2.0".
- Controlling the Spice, Part 1: Dune on Page and Screen [1]
- Controlling the Spice, Part 2: Cryo’s Dune [2]
- Controlling the Spice, Part 3: Westwood’s Dune [3]
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[1] - https://www.filfre.net/2018/11/controlling-the-spice-part-1-...
[2] - https://www.filfre.net/2018/11/controlling-the-spice-part-2-...
[3] - https://www.filfre.net/2018/12/controlling-the-spice-part-3-...
I still fire it up, every once in a while, at night, trying to recapture the mood of those early days.
> Real-time strategy (RTS) is a subgenre of strategy video games that does not progress incrementally in turns,[1] but allow all players to play simultaneously, in "real time". By contrast, in turn-based strategy (TBS) games, players take turns to play. The term "real-time strategy" was coined by Brett Sperry to market Dune II in the early 1990s.[2][3]
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real-time_strategy
> While not the first real-time strategy (RTS) video game, Dune II established the format that would be followed for years to come.[1][2] As such, Dune II is the archetypal real-time strategy game. Striking a balance between complexity and innovation, it was a huge success and laid the foundation for Age of Empires, Command & Conquer, Warcraft, and many other RTS games that followed.
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dune_II